Code: White Tiger
by Imaginationqueen87
Summary: Dr Oliver has just joined the staff of Kadic Academy and has began to notce something strange about two of the lyoko team. Has he uncovered the real secret behind Ulirch's poor grades? UxY JxA
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Code Lyoko or Power Rangers Dino Thunder Im just the girl that had the idea to bring them together

* * *

**Code: White Tiger**

It was early afternoon and the students were surprised to find out that the science department now contained a new elective and with that came a new teacher, Doctor Thomas Oliver.

"I'm pretty sure this is going to be an interesting class" Jeremy said as he and Ulrich entered Dr. Oliver's class.

"Welcome boys, have a seat anywhere"

"Okay" Jeremy smiled slight as he and Ulrich took seats near the front

"Your names?"

"Ulrich Stern"

"Jeremy Belpois

"Okay"

The teacher was a rather young man in his late twenties or early thirties.

Odd entered the room and took a seat beside Ulrich, Aelita was close behind Ulrich and she took a seat beside Jeremy. Things quickly became interesting when they learned they would be learning about paleontology.

Tommy was looking over papers that evening. He had learned long ago to recognize the symptoms of several learning disabilities including Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity, along with Dyslexia. As he read he noticed something that disturbed him.

'Is it possible?" he wondered. It had been obvious to him that this student was quite intelligent, he had demonstrated that, but to look at his work would lead one to believe otherwise.

"Mrs. Hertz, I think I might have made a discovery about one of the boys in my eighth grade group."

Time passed and Tommy became more and more suspicious of what was going on.

"I don't get what Dr. Oliver is up to, he seems to be paying extra attention to me, it's like he's suspicious of something" Ulrich muttered

"Yeah, Dr. O has been paying close attention to us, but I don't think that he knows about Xana, you have to admit he's been quite lately" Odd added

"Yeah, too quiet" Jeremy added

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Yumi asked

"I think Dr. Oliver is suspicious of something" Ulrich said

"Well he is just coming into this school, he's probably trying to get to know you guys better" Yumi shrugged "He's really cool, I know that much"

"Yeah, he said if we need help in class all we have to do is ask" Aelita smiled "I like him"

"His first concern is our safety, and I'm sure that is what landed him the job here"

"There he is" Ulrich said

Tommy looked as Odd began a new task and wondered if there was more going on with Odd than he had first thought.

He also noticed that Yumi Ishiyama was present with the boys. He knew that Yumi was a very intelligent and observant young woman. He figured she knew something was going on with Ulrich, she probably just didn't know what it was. He also figured that once she learned to identify the signs she might be a very valuable aid to Ulrich in the future.

Aelita was another story, sure she was a bright and intelligent girl, but she was behind in some of her classes. Tommy had found her quite willing to do what it took to catch up with her classmates once she realized she was behind. She also had a lot of help where that was concerned from her friend Jeremy Belpois who seemed to be a child prodigy

Jean Pierre Delmas looked up as Tommy entered his office.

"Thomas, what brings you here?" he asked

"I have been keeping close watch on two boys and I've made a disturbing discovery about them" Tommy sighed "but I'm not completely sure of these findings, they need tested before we take any real action"

"What did you find that has you so concerned Thomas?"

"I believe that Ulrich Stern and Odd Della-Robia both have learning disabilities"

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

"Stern and Della Robia, what could they possibly have?" Mr. Delmas asked

"I believe that Della Robia may have some form of AD/HD"

"I don't find that too difficult to believe, but Ulrich just needs to apply himself more"

"That may be true, but all the signs I've seen point to a different answer for Ulrich, I believe he may be mildly Dyslexic and giving it his all he just needs some help to reach his full potential"

"The more I think about this the more that seems likely. I will see that the proper tests are applied to see if these theories are correct." Mr Delmas said "I am really glad you brought this to my attention"

Tommy left the office and went for a walk in the park; he stopped in a secluded spot and started going through his martial arts katas.

Mr. Delmas figured it was completely plausible that Ulrich was Dyslexic as Tommy had thought, but only a test from the school psychologist could prove or disprove the theory.

"I can't believe this!" Ulrich muttered as he went to meet up with the school psychologist in the library

"Ulrich, don't worry, I'm sure everything is fine" Jeremy said

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that" Ulrich muttered as he looked between Jeremy and Aelita

"I'm sure things are okay, Ulrich" Aelita said gently

Dr Oliver wasn't sure if he should hope he was right or wrong about Ulrich. If he was right he knew he could help Ulrich adapt to his condition, he had helped other Dyslexic teens handle normal classes and pass. If he was wrong there wouldn't be much they could do for Ulrich except find some way to motivate him.

Ulrich's parent's weren't sure about this new teacher or his theory about their son.

Odd was with his mother visiting an AD/HD specialist. They had to run tests that included talking to Odd and a small blood sample (A/n: I'm going by what I remember from when I was tested for ADD, but remember people I was in 2nd or 3rd grade so this may not be accurate things might have changed)

Ulrich was tested in the library and the tests showed a lot about him and the issues he was really facing.

Tommy found out the next day that he had been right about Odd, whom was getting medication as well as other treatments. Then the results he was waiting for came back the ones about Ulrich.

He then arranged a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Stern to give them the news.

"Dr. Oliver, with all due respect, I don't believe that there is anything that you can tell me about my son that I don't already know" Mr Stern said skeptically

"Okay, then did you know that your son's grades are not because he doesn't try, they are a sign that he is Dyslexic"

Mr. Stern paled "You mean to tell me that I have called my son a slacker all this time and he really had a problem"

"It isn't completely your fault, I have seen cases of Dyslexia go undiagnosed and unnoticed until a teen reaches high school or college; which is a sad truth for teens like Ulrich."

"Does he need to change schools?" Mrs. Stern asked

"No, ma'am, this school is fully capable of helping Ulrich, I can teach him how to handle his condition and now that it has been recognized I'm sure that his grades will improve once he learns to handle the condition." Tommy said "I took the time to train to best teach him to handle this condition and I'm willing to help him as best I can."

"How can we thank you for taking the time to look into this"

"You don't need to thank me, really, I feel like it's my duty as a teacher to make sure my students are getting the best education they can. I'm also willing to step up and help a student that needs it."

The next day Ulrich had gone to the library to meet up with Tommy, he had learned the results of the tests and they were going to set up tutoring sessions for him.

They were just getting started when Yumi Ishiyama burst into the room looking terrified

"Yumi!" Ulrich ran to her side Tommy followed

"Yumi what happened?" Tommy asked knowing that this amount of fear only meant one thing, something was wrong.

"I... I don't know what happened, I was just walking to class when... something attacked me" she replied Tommy noticed her hands were shaking slightly, and knew it must have taken a lot to throw a normally calm girl like Yumi into this state.

"Come, sit down and we'll figure this out" Tommy said

Yumi sat in a chair and Ulrich took a seat at one side, Tommy at the other. Yumi began to ease as she knew that she was rather secure with both Tommy and Ulrich.

"Okay, now Yumi I need to know exactly what happened in the..."

Something rammed the door and the trio within jumped from their seats

"What was that?" Tommy demanded

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

A/n: I know this is way overdue and I apologize for that I lost inspiration for this story a long time ago and then forgot about it for other projects. I am now coming back around to Code Lyoko and trying to work on this story. Hope you forgive me and enjoy this far overdue update.

* * *

Ulrich knew that Xana had to be behind this and reached for his phone, but then realized he couldn't mention Xana in front of Dr. Oliver

"Ulrich, we need to warn Jeremy" Yumi whispered

Ulrich texted Jeremy with a message that they thought Xana was active and Jeremy confirmed that they were right. Xana had sent out monsters from Lyoko.

Then the monster came through and Tommy barely flinched much to Ulrich and Yumi's surprise.

"Run!" he ordered pointing to the other door "I'll take care of this freak!"

"Okay" Ulrich and Yumi said in unison and ran from the room. Ulrich looked back in time to see Tommy nail the creeper in the head with an impressive spinning heel kick to the head.

"Go Ulrich!" Tommy ordered "I've got this!"

They left hoping that Tommy could handle the creeper on his own.

Ulrich called Jeremy's cell phone

"Jeremy, you might want to tell Odd to hurry, Dr. Oliver is fighting a creeper and we don't know how well he'll fare or how long he'll last."

"Oh no!" Jeremy muttered

* * *

The duo arrived at the factory and went onto Lyoko. What they didn't know was Tommy had followed them to the factory.

"What have these kids gotten themselves into?" Tommy wondered. He soon found a way down to the lower levels and was stunned by what he saw

"What is going on here?" Tommy wondered aloud, years of being a power ranger had taught him not to jump to any conclusions.

Jeremy felt the dread wash over him as he saw Dr Oliver come down the ladder from the factory level.

"Um Dr Oliver this is not what you think" Jeremy said a hint of fear in his tone

"You don't know for sure what I think" Tommy replied "does this have something to do with a psychopath bent on conquering the world? If it does, I know that MO a little too well."

Jeremy sighed "Okay, then it's exactly what you think it is, but we can't turn the computer off now my friends are inside. Even if they weren't we couldn't turn it off, Aelita, well this is a long story, but to put it in perspective her life is tied to this computer if it dies she does too"

Tommy gasped inwardly, he had stepped into more than he bargained for.

"Jeremy I've got a confession to make, I know about world conquering evil because I've faced it before, and fought it as a power ranger. Your secret is safe with me, I only ask that you let me help you, we can defeat this but only as a team."

"Guys we have something interesting going on here."

"What is it, Jeremy?" Aelita asked

"Dr Oliver followed Yumi and Ulrich here, he says he thinks he can help us against Xana. He says he has fought this type of evil before."

"Sounds like we can let him into our gang" Ulrich said

"Yeah, it would be nice to have a member of the faculty on our side" Yumi agreed "and if he has half the experience I think he does he'll be a big help."

Jeremy smiled as Odd and Aelita weighed in with their approval

"Well Dr. Oliver it looks like you're part of the team"

"Okay, now tell me what we're doing here now"

"I'll tell you the whole story behind Xana and Aelita once the danger has passed... oh no!" Jeremy groaned "Odd just got devirtualized!"

"Now what?"

"Well, Xana's welcoming committee is too big for Ulrich and Yumi to take alone and if Aelita's life points hit zero it's game over no reset, so I hate to ask this of you, but you're going to have to go in" Jeremy said "Odd can't go back after that kind of devirtualization, the guys say the return trip is too rough for a second trip in."

"Okay, I'm on my way"

Tommy got to the scanners and quickly checked to see if Odd was okay

"I'm fine, Dr. O. I'm going to take the elevator up so I can keep Jeremy company up there. Just a tip, the monsters in there all have a strange looking eye symbol on them, that's the weak spot in their armor. Your best bet to defeat them is to aim for that."

"Thanks, I'll remember that" Tommy gave a curt nod and stepped into the scanner that Odd had come out of.

"Transfer Dr. O, Scanner... virtualization!"

Tommy took a brief look at himself to realize his outfit looked a lot like his ninjetti outfit sans hood and mask and his saber looked a lot like his old Saba and the symbol in the center of his chest was the old tiger instead of the falcon that he had worn in ninjetti.

Tommy joined the fray much to Ulrich and Yumi's surprise.

"Dr. Oliver?" Ulrich said surprised that Tommy could wield his saber like an extension of himself.

Yumi too was shocked by this but they didn't let their shock stop them from fighting their battle.

They got Aelita to the tower and use the return to the past to undo the damage the creepers had done on Earth.

They all gathered in the factory including Dr. Oliver and Jeremy told Tommy the story of Lyoko and Aelita from the beginning and Tommy told them his story.

"I think I understand this," Tommy said it was obvious that he was in deep thought "so Aelita, you were once living on Lyoko, but Jeremy created a program that allowed you to come here"

"Yes" Aelita replied

"And you three, have been going into Lyoko for over a year now" Tommy said turning to Ulrich, Odd and Yumi who nodded to confirm their science teacher's words.

"Jeremy, you have been working this computer all the time, but never actually gone into Lyoko?'

"That actually isn't true, I've been once, and only once"

"Yeah, he looked ridiculous on Lyoko and didn't last forty five seconds" Odd grinned as Jeremy glared daggers at the crazy teen, what he said was true, but he didn't have to say it out loud.

"I get it, not cut out for fighting, not everyone is" Tommy smiled "You three are really good in there, but I think I can teach you some teamwork techniques that could make your fights even more successful against those creatures in there and if they get put out here."

"I was wondering if you could teach me that spin kick you used on the creeper during the attack" Ulrich said

"You saw that, in high school I could do three of those in a row, I was the only one of my friends capable of that feat and they called it my signature move."

Ulrich looked impressed, he knew for a fact that wasn't easy

"It's not as difficult as you would think, you just have to have really good balance"

The group started to leave but Dr. Oliver stopped Yumi

"What is it, Dr. Oliver?" Yumi asked

To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Yumi was surprised when she heard what Dr Oliver had to say.

"I knew Ulrich was having trouble, I just had no clue he was…"

"You couldn't have known. Yumi, the symptoms are very difficult to identify if you don't know what you're looking for."Tommy said

"Dr. Oliver, why are you so interested in all of these things?" she asked

"Because I feel like I'm obligated to help my students thrive, and when I see a student struggling I want to know why and if there is anything I can do to help." he sighed "It's just who I am."

"I'll do what I can to help him."

"Good, he's lucky to have a friend like you."

"No, Dr. Oliver, I think I'm the lucky one... a while back when my dad lost his job Ulrich risked a lot to try and get my family some money so we wouldn't have to move back to Japan." Yumi explained, "I'd like to learn that heel kick myself."

* * *

Later that day, Tommy met up with the trio in the gym much to Jim's surprise

"I thought you were a science teacher"

"I am, but I've been studying the martial arts since I was younger than these four," Tommy explained.

"Okay, let's see how this goes"

After a while of work, Ulrich could tell that Dr. Oliver had a lot of experience, just as he had said. He was personally slightly impressed by the situation. Ulrich, Odd, Yumi and Aelita were present and within a few moments Jeremy even showed up.

"So you decided to come anyway, Einstein." Odd said.

"Yeah figured I might learn something here." Jeremy replied.

"Okay, Ulrich and Yumi I know you've been training, I'd like to see what you two can do." Tommy said.

Ulrich and Yumi went out to the center of the basketball court and bowed to each other before starting to spar.

Tommy was impressed, they were both very skilled, but the employed moves he wasn't familiar with. He figured it was a different style. He stopped them when they reached a stalemate. Yumi seemed to be losing at the moment and he saw a way out.

"Ulrich come here." Tommy said.

"Yes sir".

"Okay let's recreate that pin you had a minute ago."

"Okay but what are we doing?"

"I'm showing you a way out of that hold." Tommy replied simply.

"That hold is impossible to break," Jim said.

"Really?" Tommy said as he easily broke free and in the time it took to blink had Ulrich's arm held lightly behind his back.

"You're stronger than him." Jim scoffed.

"If Yumi knew how she could easily break that hold." Tommy said, "good job, Ulrich. You too, Yumi."

* * *

The Next Day

Yumi sighed, she had a dull pain in her abdomen but she wrote it off as nothing as she walked to school. She soon noticed her friends by the vending machines, Jeremy was nursing a cup of what looked to be coffee and Yumi figured he had been up all night again. A mild wave of nausea hit her but she pushed it down as she approached them.

"So no sleep again?" she asked.

"You mean Einstein, yeah... no I don't think he did" Odd said.

"Hey, I managed a few hours," Jeremy objected in annoyance.

Ulrich walked passed Yumi his hand brushing hers only to find it felt warm to the touch.

"Yumi, is something wrong" he asked stopping to look at the older teen, "your hand feels warm."

"I'm fine,"she replied.

Aelita got an irritated look on her face.

"Yumi if something is wrong you need to let us know, we're you're friends," she protested.

"I'm fine, really," Yumi replied getting irritated.

Ulrich had put his hand to her face to see if her hands might have just been warm and observed as she slapped his hand away that it too felt warm to the touch.

"Okay, but if anything changes go to the nurse, immediately or I will take you there myself... even if I have to carry you, and you know I'm perfectly capable of doing so." Ulrich said flatly, leaving the older girl little room for argument. He might deny it up and down but he loved Yumi and would do anything to keep her safe, healthy and happy.

She glared at him wordlessly, she knew the threat of carrying her to the infirmary wasn't at all hollow and that despite their size difference he was perfectly capable of lifting and carrying her. More so since his recent growth spurt put him practically nose to nose with her.

They split to go to class, she started out the day in math class. Things weren't too bad there. She went on through her classes fine enough. Lunch came and her classmates noticed that Yumi wasn't eating, not like normal. She just wasn't hungry.

After lunch she went to Dr. Oliver's class, but she was feeling worse by the minute. The nausea had kicked back in and by the middle of class she felt she was going to throw up.

* * *

Tommy looked up in time to see Yumi bail from the room.

"Hang on everyone, I'll be right back," he said and took out after her, his own stomach knotted with worry, she looked as if she was going to vomit. He arrived at the nearest girls bathroom and heard her inside doing exactly that. He sighed, he couldn't go in. A few moments later she came out, barely capable of standing and a new wave of fear hit the science teacher. She looked to be in a lot of pain and at that moment he had no idea what could be going on in her body.

* * *

Yumi was stunned when she felt herself lifted from her feet as soon as she got from the bathroom.

"Dr. Oliver, what's going on"

"That's what I was hoping you could tell me." he countered

"I... I don't know", she replied fear tinging her voice.

Tommy could tell she was running a fever because her skin felt warm to the touch. He had no idea what was going on and that was what scared him more than anything. He pushed his way into the infirmary and Yolande greeted him quickly instructing him to put Yumi on the bed in front of him and that she would tend to her from there.

Tommy returned to his class still worried about Yumi.

Yolande did some checking and sighed, this was beyond what she could handle so she called the doctor. He ran a cursory exam and then dialed for an ambulance.

"Doctor what is going on?" Yolande asked

"I'm not 100% sure, but with the symptoms she's presenting it seems this situation is beyond anything we can handle here." he said

The ambulance arrived and she was soon being transported to the local hospital.

* * *

Class ended a few minutes later, as Jeremy's super scan picked up a tower. He was able to get a hold of Ulrich, Odd and Aelita, but Yumi wasn't answering. They met by the vending machines and were stunned to see an ambulance on campus ground.

" Anyone know why Yumi isn't answering her phone?" Jeremy asked not looking up from his own phone.

"Jeremy, I think I know why Yumi isn't answering," Odd said.

"Why?" Jeremy asked.

"The fact that they just loaded her into that ambulance might be one reason," Odd continued.

"What?" Jeremy demanded in shock nearly dropping his cell phone.

"I knew there was something wrong!" Ulrich exclaimed, "I... I should have done something more."

"Ulrich there was nothing you could do," Aelita said gently.

"I should have dragged her to the infirmary when I first noticed she had a fever, I should have never let her go to class!" Ulrich growled in frustration, turning away as the ambulance drove off.

"Ulrich, we all know what that would have accomplished." Jeremy sighed.

"Yeah, it would have just made Yumi mad at me" Ulrich said

"Got that right, and for all we know her going to the infirmary earlier wouldn't have changed anything, if they're taking her to the hospital this must be serious."

"It might not have been so serious if she had gone earlier!" Ulrich protested.

"Once again we don't know that, come on guys let's make ourselves useful and stop Xana." Jeremy said.

Ulrich, Odd, Jeremy and Aelita headed for the woods to get to the factory. They were shocked when they were met by Tommy.

"Dr. Oliver I thought they would have called the staff for a meeting after what happened with Yumi." Ulrich said.

"They did that already," Tommy replied. "There will be more meetings for her teachers as more information comes in."

"What about your class?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm off this period," Tommy replied, "Do you need a third for Lyoko?"

The trio looked amongst themselves, they could always use as many as they could on Lyoko.

"Yeah, we could defiantly use the help" Ulrich said.

They headed down the tunnel unaware that another had seen them.

To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Soo-Yeon Nam was new to Kadic Academy and was surprised when she saw four of her classmates heading for the forest, she was even more shocked when they met up with Dr. Oliver there and went down into the sewers. She waited a few minutes and headed down after them. Running along the trail of wheel marks to the ladder to the factory. She climbed up not knowing what she would find.

"What is this?" she wondered to herself and continued on into the factory.

* * *

Jeremy gasped in horror as he saw the new girl walking into the factory.

"Guys we have a big problem" Jeremy said

"How big, Jeremy?" Tommy asked

"We were followed," Jeremy replied

"Just sit tight, whoever it is will probably think they lost us and go away." Ulrich said calmly.

"Okay, I hope you're right" Jeremy sighed as he watched the girl in the factory. She seemed she wouldn't be lost so easily

"I wonder... does this thing still work?" she thought aloud as she pressed the call button for the elevator. It came up.

"Oh you do work" she smiled and got in riding it down to wherever it took her.

* * *

"Oh no, she's in the elevator!" Jeremy exclaimed in shock

"Jeremy, calm down! We'll just have to either return to the past or swear her to secrecy." Ulrich said still calm.

"Okay." Jeremy sighed.

The elevator doors opened and the new girl emerged.

"Nam, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked

"You can call me Soo-Yeon, and I was going to ask you the same thing Belpois"

"Soo-Yeon, you can call me Jeremy and it's kind of a long story," Jeremy said.

"Well start talking," Soo-Yeon said sitting down by the holo-map, "it appears I have nothing but time, after that girl was rushed to the hospital they canceled class. I think the teachers are scrambling to reassure parents that whatever caused this isn't contagious."

Jeremy shot Soo-Yeon a glare.

"Her name is Yumi Ishiyama," Jeremy said flatly

"Oh, I assume she's Japanese, correct?" Soo-Yeon said

"And you aren't?"

Soo-Yeon gave him a pointed glare "Nope, I'm Korean, but I do speak Japanese, I recognized the name as being Japanese and funny thing is, written in her own language her name would be Ishiyama Yumi."

"Why the flip?"

"In most Asian countries the family name is written first, and, in Korean at least, spoken first, like in Korea and most international venues I would be introduced as Nam Soo-Yeon. But we seem to have wandered off topic, what is this thing?"

"This is a super computer, but before I tell you any more I need to know if you can keep a secret."

"Sure, I can keep a secret"

Jeremy told her the story.

Meanwhile after a few tests It was discovered that Yumi needed surgery.

"Mrs. Ishiyama the infection in your daughter's appendix means that it needs to come out, the sooner the better." Dr Graham stated

"Okay" was the stunned reply

"I have her set up for an emergency appendectomy and one of our best pediatric surgeons is handling the case from here." Dr. Graham stated

Yumi meanwhile was dreading the operation, she had never been in surgery before and if she were to be honest she was terrified.

"Don't worry, Yumi, everything will be find" the nurse said as she prepared for the IV.

Yumi visibly flinched from the needle

"Don't worry, this will only sting for a minute" the nurse stated warmly, "if it bothers you, look away."

"Okay" Yumi closed her eyes

"That works as well" she got the IV in and Yumi was rushed to the operating room and set up for the procedure.

"_Okay, Yumi-chan, just relax this will all be over soon_" the nurse stated having switched to speaking to Yumi in Japanese after learning that was her first language

They had started cleaning the incision sight and Yumi became tense she soon felt a gloved hand in her own, it was the nurse that had been speaking to her in Japanese. She gave Yumi's hand a light squeeze and Yumi returned the action slowly relaxing.

A mask was placed over Yumi's nose and mouth and soon she felt herself falling asleep.

"_You will feel better soon,"_ That was the last thing Yumi heard before she succumb to the anesthesia. They inserted the tracheal tube and went to work.

It didn't take long for the team on Lyoko to finish.

Tommy sighed a he got a phone call as he got up to the control room.

"Hello... Yes... yes I'll let her friends know" Tommy hung up and turned to the Lyoko teens "They just took Yumi in for surgery."

"What?" Ulrich said in shock

"Her appendix is on the verge of rupture, they have to get it out now." Tommy sighed

"Oh man" Ulrich muttered looking up at the ceiling his fists balled at his sides.

"Well It looks as if we aren't returning to the past this time," Odd said.

"Why would we, it wouldn't change anything," Ulrich said "Except for putting Yumi through the same mess she just went through all over again. You wouldn't guess it but Yumi isn't a big fan of needles,"

"Who is?" Tommy asked then looked among Odd and Ulrich "You guys did great in there, especially given the circumstances, I know you were worried about Yumi but you managed to keep it together in there and that's saying something."

"It isn't the first time we've had to run through Lyoko while one of our own was suffering an uncertain fate, but usually that ends with the Xana attack, but... not this time. She was sick before the tower activated, she needs this operation." Ulrich sighed and they all started back to the school except him

"Ulrich, is there something you want to talk about?" Tommy asked turning back to talk to the teenager.

"Na, Dr. Oliver, I'm fine"

"Ulrich... look you're worried about her, I get it but she wouldn't want you to stress yourself out." Tommy said "this is a routine procedure she should be fine."

"I can't help it, Dr. Oliver... I... I care about her, a lot." Ulrich said from where he sat by the holo-map.

"Just care or love?" Tommy asked sitting by Ulrich

Ulrich gave a harsh sigh "Love, okay I'm in love with her, are you happy?"

Tommy put a hand on Ulrich's shoulder.

"Does she know?"

"No, sir, she doesn't" Ulrich replied looking away.

"Maybe it's time you told her how you felt," Tommy said.

"It's not that easy," Ulrich sighed standing up and taking a few steps away.

"Ulrich, listen you're nervous about all this I understand that, but she deserves to know how you feel," Tommy said.

"But what if she doesn't feel the same way, what if this ruins our friendship, the team can't bear that, not now." Ulrich rebutted, and Tommy had to admit he had a good point.

"That is true, but what if she feels the same way about you?" he said, "what if you coming clean leads to her doing the same and your relationship becomes stronger for it."

"How do I know?"

"I can't answer that, Ulrich," Tommy sighed.

They left the factory and Ulrich went up to the hospital to check on Yumi.

Hiroki looked up to see Ulrich enter the waiting room.

"Ulrich!" he said in excitement.

"Ulrich, what brings you here?" Mrs. Ishiyama asked.

"I just wanted to be here for Yumi." Ulrich said rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Okay" she said "come, sit down."

About forty minutes later the surgeon approached the family

To be continued...


End file.
